How has your week gone? I would love to tell you that I have had a fantastic week, but that would not be accurate. I do not mean to imply that I have had a bad week. It has been a good week, but it also has been a week that has reminded me that I am very much a work in progress. To help me process through, God seems to have graciously had Philippians 1:6 put in front of me several times this week. It reads: And I am sure of this, that he would began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Paul was not immune to struggling as a follower of Jesus. Right before Paul went to Philippi in Acts 16, he had a major blowout with Barnabas over John Mark in Acts 15. Thought we do not have a long statement of confession from Paul about the issue, I think there are some hints in the New Testament that Paul knew he had not done everything right in that situation. It is never fun to fail, especially when other people know that you failed, and they point it out to you.
I have battled voices in my head at times around my failures. Expressions like “screw-up, idiot, and we will need to find someone else to do it since you are clearly not capable” can bring a weight to my sould that is not uplifing. That is not a good place to be. And yet, if I hear Paul speaking in verse 6, I do not need to stay in that place. Yes, we can fail.But our failures and failings are not the final stories of our lives. The final story is being written by the God of exceeding joy (Psalm 43:4). And that God is continuing to work in us. We can move from a place of defeat and despair to one of joy because God is working inour lives. I pray we will all rejoice in that today. We are in process, but God has guaranteed the final outcome.